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What's your preferred seasonal aesthetic?


Rafiel's Aria
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What do you look for in seasonals?  

75 members have voted

  1. 1. What do you look for in seasonals?

    • A literal interpretation of the theme (Ex. Spring, Christmas, and NY banners)
      19
    • A vague interpretation of the theme (Ex. Love Abounds)
      39
    • Interpretations of a plausible AU (Ex. Dancer Inigo)
      45
    • A more modern aesthetic (Ex. School uniforms)
      10
    • Fanservice (Ex. Bridal Blessings, Summer banners, Tharja's Christmas bikini)
      14
    • Memes (Ex. Summer Leo)
      15
    • Aesthetic doesn't matter; only skills
      8
    • Aesthetic doesn't matter; just my favorite character
      22
    • Aesthetic doesn't matter; other
      4
    • Insert vague "other" option here
      6


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So I wanted to create a poll for those who like seasonals/actively pull for them. You're free to vote even if you don't like seasonals/don't ever pull for them if you have a hypothetical opinion. I had been pretty against them up until this last banner, but now I think I'm at least neutral as far as seasonals go.

What do you look for in a seasonal's appearance? Do you want a literal somewhat goofy interpretation like Summer Xander beating his enemies to death with a floatie whilst wearing a skin-tight swimsuit or do you a more subtle interpretation like the Tudor-esque Love Abounds characters (romantic, but not characters dressed in hearts)? Or do you want to see more AUs like the Performing Arts banner? (Manakete Roy anyone?) Maybe you want to see a purely modern aesthetic. I don't think we've seen anything like that. Maybe the summer banners come close, but even then, Leo was still wearing a cloak, and we still had some weapons that resembled normal weapons. (I'm talking like...idol girls fighting which guitars, drum sticks, and microphones.)

Maybe you just want good art, your favorite characters, fanservice, or skills. I think I managed to cover most everything in the poll.

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5 minutes ago, Rafiel's Aria said:

Or do you want to see more AUs like the Performing Arts banner?

This. If you absolutely need to make alts, have them make sense and not just directly borrow from the real world.

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I'm not big on Seasonals, but I like the look of the Love Abounds units the most, and it looks like something vaguely Medieval people would actually wear.

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I prefer a literal interpretation of the theme. Otherwise, it doesn't feel like the theme at all to me and doesn't make as much sense. That's why I don't consider the current seasonal banner to be Valentine's. It looks more like a generic medieval England style banner with some gifts in the mix. The gifts also remind me more of Christmas due to being red and green and stuff.

I also just like seeing my favorite characters, of course. And things that make sense or just plain look nice.

Edited by Anacybele
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Performing Arts shouldn't have been a special banner, so I can't called that my preferred seasonal aesthetic, it should be the game's regular design.

In terms of the rest of the seasonals though, there's a difference between what I would like to see implemented, and what I would actually pull for. I'd never actively pull for Spring Xander for instance, but I love how his goofy self exists. Like anyone else, I place some degree of value in character, art, voice and all that stuff, but the pragmatic half of me demands that the character also has to be genuinely useful to my team in order for me to spend any orbs. So in terms of priority, I would say:

1) Actual utility as a unit
2) Goofy, comedic off-the-wall designs
3) How much I like the character

I don't give a fig about canon, and I want the next Performing Arts banner to be literally a rock band, with the weapons being an electric guitar and bass (axes obviously), a mic stand (lance) and drum stick daggers.

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I can vote that I like them all, right? I like all of them because I like variety.

Yeah, sure, I'm not gonna jump and down for all of them. And, sure, some of them are cliche and even a bit lazy. Okay, sure, some probably don't need to be in the game.

But the choice is there, though. And choice is something I can support.

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If they're gonna bother with a seasonal I prefer one like Spring, Halloween or Christmas that really goes for it. Ones that really put the "seasonal" in seasonal banner.

Favorite characters and some good fanservice of course get votes too. I'm happy to see more of characters I like, and stuff like W Tharja is fun too. I don't care as much about new skills and stuff. I'm happy to re-kit units I like if I have to, and I don't generally pull for units just for their skills or how new and broken they might be.

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I like pretty things and things that make me smile. Character choice, theming, and gameplay mechanics don't really affect my enjoyment of the seasonal banners.

Tharja's JP voice lines are by far the best things so far to come out of the seasonal banners.

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I like most of them but AU, Literal, Modern, and Vague Interpretation are the ones I’m partial towards while the Fanservice ones usually fall short, especially those outside the Bridal banner in case of Heroes. Of course anything that has a favorite is something I’ll enjoy regardless of theme.

Edit: Also in the case of the current valentines banner. I don’t necessarily feel that it’s vague as much as it is just focusing on a certain aspect most wouldn’t. So instead on focusing on the chocolates, Cupid, romance, it chose to focus on love outside of just romantic, such as friendship and family (with some gift giving involved)

Edited by NegativeExponents-
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I like Performing Arts the most, because it's less forced holiday themed and more something you can see in FE. (As silly as Lilith toy weapons are, I just really don't dig it that much when you battle all these classic FE villains and such)

That said, I do like the current Love Abounds banner though, since it's a very unique take for Valentine's- and not something overdone. Love the costumes and I could see them wearing those in a norma FE game. I mean still a bit weird Lyn is an armour but at least it's better than Tharja's case.

That said, the (usually) better art really sells those characters for me the most. Things like PA Olivia, PA Azura and Hector I really like and have pulled for

@Vaximillian Just curious, what's your stance on Hector? I mean he doesn't have a seasonal goofy weapon (Eliwood also seems kind of plausible and not too holiday-themed appearance-wise?). And the medieval costume he wears is a bit more plausible than other seasonal costumes and he just brings Armads.

Edited by mcsilas
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Whoa. Pretty surprised to see how many people support more AU seasonals/less literal interpretations. Neat!

1 hour ago, Humanoid said:

Performing Arts shouldn't have been a special banner, so I can't called that my preferred seasonal aesthetic, it should be the game's regular design.

This is a pretty interesting take. How do you feel about the Dark Eirika introduced in the latest SS banner? Do you think having AU non-seasonals introduced like that should occur like that or should they simply get their own special banner? I suppose either way I could see folks getting upset that AU copies were taking the place of canon characters regardless of how IS decided to implement something like that.

1 hour ago, saisymbolic said:

I can vote that I like them all, right? I like all of them because I like variety.

Yeah, sure, I'm not gonna jump and down for all of them. And, sure, some of them are cliche and even a bit lazy. Okay, sure, some probably don't need to be in the game.

But the choice is there, though. And choice is something I can support.

I like this comment. XD This comment just makes me happy. I was really bitter about seasonals for a while, but now, I'm mostly fine with them as long as they make people happy. I will say, I wish skills weren't always so exclusive...and that we could get more 4* units demoted instead of all of these super fancy 5 stars, but someone's favorite character is getting some love, so that's all that matters.

1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

I prefer a literal interpretation of the theme. Otherwise, it doesn't feel like the theme at all to me and doesn't make as much sense. That's why I don't consider the current seasonal banner to be Valentine's. It looks more like a generic medieval England style banner with some gifts in the mix. The gifts also remind me more of Christmas due to being red and green and stuff.

I also just like seeing my favorite characters, of course. And things that make sense or just plain look nice.

To be fair, I'm not sure this banner was ever introduced AS a Valentine's Day banner. Folks just call it that because it runs through Valentine's Day. Like how the Christmas banner wasn't advertised as a Christmas banner. It was a "winter" banner that just so happened to borrow Christmas themes. They could have easily done characters in warm, fur-trimmed clothing (like something from a Dicken's novel) or ice skaters, and that would have fit a winter "theme" as well. FEH chose to interpret Valentine's Day by making up a "love festival" instead. In terms of love/romance, the outfits remind me of some OG Shakespeare costumes which could be considered romantic. The thing about a theme like "love" is that it's so broad, there really isn't a wrong way to do it. If that makes sense.

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2 minutes ago, mcsilas said:

I like Performing Arts the most, because it's less forced holiday themed and more something you can see in FE. (As silly as Lilith toy weapons are, I just really don't dig it that much when you battle all these classic FE villains and such)

That said, I do like the current Love Abounds banner though, since it's a very unique take for Valentine's- and not something overdone. Love the costumes and I could see them wearing those in a norma FE game. I mean still a bit weird Lyn is an armour but at least it's better than Tharja's case.

That said, the (usually) better art really sells those characters for me the most. Things like PA Olivia, PA Azura and Hector I really like and have pulled for

@Vaximillian Just curious, what's your stance on Hector? I mean he doesn't have a seasonal goofy weapon (Eliwood also seems kind of plausible and not too holiday-themed appearance-wise?). And the medieval costume he wears is a bit more plausible than other seasonal costumes and he just brings Armads.

Well, Bridelia, New Year's Corrin, and Valentine Roy have fairly believable weapons.  Note that they are all bows.

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10 minutes ago, mcsilas said:

@Vaximillian Just curious, what's your stance on Hector?

I’m fine with Valentine’s Hector’s appearance, and indeed, with most of the Valentine’s units’. I’m not fine with Lilina and Lyn throwing around gifts, and with Hector, Lyn, and Eliwood being armoured for no reason.

I’m still bitter about the limiteds though, and I always be.

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13 minutes ago, Rafiel's Aria said:

This is a pretty interesting take. How do you feel about the Dark Eirika introduced in the latest SS banner? Do you think having AU non-seasonals introduced like that should occur like that or should they simply get their own special banner? I suppose either way I could see folks getting upset that AU copies were taking the place of canon characters regardless of how IS decided to implement something like that.

Well, I am on record as saying that Horse Eirika is my single most wanted unit in the game. Not because it's Eirika, who I don't mind one way or another, but because she fills a unique role, as a fast red cavalry mage. As I said, gameplay utility trumps everything for me, because ultimately building a more powerful and flexible barracks is why I continue to play this game.

I can see why people are annoyed at her "stealing" Knoll's (or Ewan's) tome, but I take the more pragmatic viewpoint - I don't think there's any chance of either Knoll or Ewan being implemented as cavalry, and between infantry Gleipnir Knoll or horse Gleipnir Eirika, I was happy with the outcome personally. In the fantasy situation where they put Knoll on a horse, sure, I'll take the Knoll. I still hold out hope that Miriel is added as a red horse mage when she eventually arrives.

I'm drifting a little, but to answer the question directly, I'm fine with alternate non-seasonal units, as long as they fulfil a gameplay niche. If they made a hypothetical infantry lance Eirika for example, I would see that as dumb and a complete waste of space.

Edited by Humanoid
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18 minutes ago, Rafiel's Aria said:

To be fair, I'm not sure this banner was ever introduced AS a Valentine's Day banner. Folks just call it that because it runs through Valentine's Day. Like how the Christmas banner wasn't advertised as a Christmas banner. It was a "winter" banner that just so happened to borrow Christmas themes. They could have easily done characters in warm, fur-trimmed clothing (like something from a Dicken's novel) or ice skaters, and that would have fit a winter "theme" as well. FEH chose to interpret Valentine's Day by making up a "love festival" instead. In terms of love/romance, the outfits remind me of some OG Shakespeare costumes which could be considered romantic. The thing about a theme like "love" is that it's so broad, there really isn't a wrong way to do it. If that makes sense.

Yeah, but a Valentine's banner was what people expected. So I was imagining creative outfits themed around hearts, pink, red, white, and maybe purple. Not...this. The outfits just remind me of our actual medieval times, specifically medieval England, and nothing else. I suppose this wasn't a "wrong" way to do it, but I don't think it was the best way either. Don't get me wrong, a medieval theme isn't a bad idea in itself, I just think it would've been better off used for another month.

And I'm seriously shocked at how many people are voting the "vague theme" option. How is that better? Why wouldn't people want the chosen theme to be more obviously followed? And we only had ONE banner that was vague so far. Doesn't mean others will look nice.

Edited by Anacybele
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9 minutes ago, Arthur97 said:

Well, Bridelia, New Year's Corrin, and Valentine Roy have fairly believable weapons.  Note that they are all bows.

Well it's now just about the weapons themselves but also the whole package like their costumes. I do give Corrin and Roy a pass though, I like their overall looks.

Bridelia is an okay. I like her art. Just slightly weird looking at brides in the battlefield- I feel bad when I see those poor dresses getting damaged, seeing as how wedding gowns usually cost a lot.

That said I'm not totally against joke weapons, it's only if I had a choice between them existing and not, I'd choose not since I like FEH back when it had no seasonals and it was just celebrating FE characters themselves. Maybe it's the anti-capitalist thoughts in me, but I don't really like seeing a Christmas tree weapon.

(Although at least seasonals give the opportunity for art upgrades so I'm thankful for those)

 

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So when it comes to seasonals, I look for the following things. 

1) Thighs (Usually an automatic guarantee, unless the person is someone like, say, Sully or Vaida)

2) Familiarity/attachment with the character (Helps a bit here)

3) Overall usefulness/skill fodder (Pretty effective for me to try to obtain people like W!Lissa or Summer Xander who'd I'd otherwise avoid like the plague)

As far as the themes? Eh, I honestly don't really care. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Humanoid said:

Well, I am on record as saying that Horse Eirika is my single most wanted unit in the game. Not because it's Eirika, who I don't mind one way or another, but because she fills a unique role, as a fast red cavalry mage. As I said, gameplay utility trumps everything for me, because ultimately building a more powerful and flexible barracks is why I continue to play this game.

I can see why people are annoyed at her "stealing" Knoll's (or Ewan's) tome, but I take the more pragmatic viewpoint - I don't think there's any chance of either Knoll or Ewan being implemented as cavalry, and between infantry Gleipnir Knoll or horse Gleipnir Eirika, I was happy with the outcome personally. In the fantasy situation where they put Knoll on a horse, sure, I'll take the Knoll. I still hold out hope that Miriel is added as a red horse mage when she eventually arrives.

I'm drifting a little, but to answer the question directly, I'm fine with alternate non-seasonal units, as long as they fulfil a gameplay niche. If they made a hypothetical infantry lance Eirika for example, I would see that as dumb and a complete waste of space.

I think that's fair enough. While I know I'd love to see Knoll or Ewan (or any other new character) in the game more than I'd like to see a copy of just about any other character currently in the roster (though if one of my boys got an alternate version, I'd probably scream), having Eirika in the game as a useful unit that fills a niche is nice. Though there will come a point where all the useful niches have been filled. Honestly, we're not missing many. We'd really just need non-seasonal armor and flying mages as well as colorless fliers and armors. I guess dagger cavalry as well? (Plz Yukimura)

3 hours ago, Anacybele said:

And I'm seriously shocked at how many people are voting the "vague theme" option. How is that better? Why wouldn't people want the chosen theme to be more obviously followed? And we only had ONE banner that was vague so far. Doesn't mean others will look nice.

I can't speak for everyone who voted, but I can speak for myself, so I suppose there's that. Whether or not others agree, IDK. As far as a vague interpretation goes, I prefer it because to me, it's more creative. You've already kind of hinted that you disagree there, but to me when someone says "love" or "Valentine"s Day," the obvious things are chocolate, hearts, roses, pink, red, etc. None of those things are bad, and people that use those elements to design a themed "something or other" aren't wrong to interpret it that way. As I said, there's not really an incorrect way to interpret love. Tim Burton's movies, Shakespeare's plays, and the Beatles' music all toy with themes of love in vastly different ways, and none of them are wrong. 

But I think it takes a really creative mind to go above and beyond to interpret a theme in a way that's not quite so mainstream. I also like vague themes because they're more open to interpretation. For me, a guy dressed like cupid...is a guy dressed like cupid. I'm sure people could write a 50 page thesis about that significance, but the common man probably can't. I like being given a little something to think about that I can also enjoy. You could probably ask 10 different people how they believe the costumes in Love Abounds relate to "love" and you might get 10 different answers, and that, in my opinion, makes the FEH world just a little bit deeper. I thoroughly enjoyed this new paralogue because it honestly felt like something that could happen in the FEH universe and was very touching. 

However, if you want a more simple answer to your question, people just have different taste. I personally think it's interesting to see what people think and why.

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I like the vague interpretations, like the Love Abounds banner. It's not explicitly romantic, it's a mixture of all forms of love. I'm so glad they're not dressed in neon pink and red and covered in hearts, they'd have looked a mess.

I also stand by the firm belief that Dancer Inigo is one of IS' best moves, and I'd love to see more AU versions of characters. Now where's Dark Emperor Marth, IS?

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7 minutes ago, Lau said:

I also stand by the firm belief that Dancer Inigo is one of IS' best moves, and I'd love to see more AU versions of characters. Now where's Dark Emperor Marth, IS?

The first time this game actually made me scream with joy was when Dancer Inigo got introduced. XD Like that was easily one of the best days ever because I wasn't expecting it. I really hope they do more stuff like that in the future... 

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5 minutes ago, Rafiel's Aria said:

The first time this game actually made me scream with joy was when Dancer Inigo got introduced. XD Like that was easily one of the best days ever because I wasn't expecting it. I really hope they do more stuff like that in the future... 

I was the exact same! I always thought it was a missed opportunity to not have Laslow be a dancer in Fates, so when Heroes comes along and lets the poor boy follow in his mother's footsteps...<3

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Limited units dictate how I spend my orbs completely. I want to collect all units equally, but it's just bad business sense to spend orbs on units I could get from the normal summoning pool - no matter how cool Zelgius and Micaiah were. Why do they got to be so limited anyway? Especially now that alternate versions of existing units exist in the summoning pool, would it really be so odd for seasonals to be in the normal summoning pool.

Legendary Banners are a thoughtful second chance mechanic, but I hope they take it further. Sounds like everybody is anticipating all the seasonal banners to return with a new batch of units. If so, I'd personally make a 4 star focus of the previous banner to run alongside it.

Anyway, guess my answer is the Inigo option. What if scenarios are just as cool as actual lore references. Wish seasonal banners focused more on that than just looking at the calendar and saying "...who would look good in a santa outfit?"

Edited by Glennstavos
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28 minutes ago, Rafiel's Aria said:

The first time this game actually made me scream with joy was when Dancer Inigo got introduced. XD Like that was easily one of the best days ever because I wasn't expecting it. I really hope they do more stuff like that in the future... 

That was the best trailer we ever had.

No one expected it. People thought Halloween Azura.

And then boom! Dark Song plays in the trailer (I love that track), and not only do we get to see Axura, but a gorgeous Fan-throwing Olivia, Dancer Inigo and a surprise Shigure (well people guessed his silhouette but a 'new' character in a seasonal is always a surprise)

I think during that time it was one of the highest viewed trailers and was trending at one point judging from fan reactions

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